Work with allies on ADIZ issue: DPP

SOVEREIGNTY:：The Ma government should demand that China abolish the air defense identification zone in order to restore peace and stability to the region, the party said

By Chris Wang / Staff reporter

Thu, Nov 28, 2013 - Page 3

Taiwan should seek to work with its democratic allies Japan, the US, South Korea and ASEAN members in the face of rising tensions in the East China Sea following Beijing’s demarcation of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Saturday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.

Taiwanese airlines should not submit their flight plans to Beijing as it has requested, it added.

The party said President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration should seek immediate coordination with the nation’s democratic allies and demand that China abolish the demarcation to restore peace and stability to the region, DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) quoted chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as saying after the party’s weekly Central Standing Committee meeting.

During the meeting, Tamkang University professor York Chen (陳文政) made a presentation on the reactions and possible scenarios involving Beijing’s ADIZ demarcation, and concluded that the president’s comment that the demarcation was “not related to sovereignty” was unacceptable.

The DPP denounced Ma’s “soft reaction” against Beijing’s unilateral move and ordered its party think tank and Department of International Affairs to explain to the international community Taiwan’s position on the issue, Lin said.

The DPP plans to send a policy team to Japan, South Korea and the US in the coming months to seek collaboration and discussions on the issue, Lin said.

He added that a report on the threat posed by the People’s Liberation Army’s in 2025, which the DPP think tank was planning to announce some time next year, would be advanced and completed within three months to better assess military capabilities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Speaking to the media before the meeting, Su told reporters that Ma’s response showed “exactly why people question his pro-China stance,” as he has failed to uphold Taiwanese sovereignty.

“Washington has sent a pair of B-52s [to the region] and Japan has asked its airlines not to submit their flight plans. Ma has made a grave mistake by saying that the demarcation was unrelated to sovereignty,” Su said.

“We advise Taiwanese airlines against submitting their flight plans to Beijing, as the governments of Japan and South Korea have issued similar appeals to their companies,” Su said.

“The Republic of China has its own ADIZ. Have others respected us [by submitting flight plans]? ... I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s necessary for us to send the plans to China,” he said before the DPP meeting.